Udon Soup is a moment in time - a carefully prepared broth and absolutely fresh accoutrements - combining to create perfection. Udon is a type of thick wheat-flour noodle very popular in Japanese cuisine.
Udon is usually served hot as noodle soup in a mildly flavored broth, in its simplest form as kake udon, served in kakejiru made of dashi, soy sauce (shōyu), and mirin. It is usually topped with thinly chopped scallions. Other common toppings include tempura, often prawn or kakiage (a type of mixed tempura fritter), or abura age, a type of deep-fried tofu pockets seasoned with sugar, mirin, and soy sauce. A thin slice of kamaboko, a halfmoon-shaped fish cake, is often added. Shichimi can be added to taste.
The flavor of broth and topping vary from region to region. Usually, dark brown broth, made from dark soy sauce (koikuchi shōyu) is used in eastern Japan, and light brown broth, made from light soy sauce (usukuchi shōyu) is used in western Japan.
The origin of udon in Japan is credited to Buddhist priests who traveled to China: local areas specifically attribute Kūkai or Enni. Kūkai, a Buddhist priest, traveled to China around the beginning of the 9th century to study Buddhism.
Broth
10 cups light chicken or vegetable broth
3 cups water
1 ½ cups coarsely chopped cilantro
1 ½ ounces dried shitake mushrooms, rinsed
¾ cup thinly sliced peeled ginger
2 lemongrass stalks, outer leaves removed, all but bottom 4 inches cut off and discarded.
2 6-inch strips dried kombu
2 teaspoons tamari soy sauce
1 teaspoon unseasoned rice vinegar
Accoutrements
2 cups ½-inch cubes peeled yams (sweet potatoes)
5 ounces snow peas, trimmed
4 cups ½-inch-wide crosswise slices of cored Napa cabbage
5 ounces slender carrots (assorted colors if possible), peeled and sliced diagonally
10 ounces Japanese-style udon noodles
1 cup sliced scallions
¼ cup matchbook-sized strips of peeled fresh ginger
4 ounces of firm tofu, cut into ½-inch cubes (optional)
1 cup shredded chicken (optional)
1 poached egg per bowl (optional)
Sambal oelek
Tamari soy sauce
Broth – Bring broth and water to a simmer in a large pot over medium heat. Add the cilantro, mushrooms, sliced ginger, and lemongrass. Cover and simmer until mushrooms are tender, about 20-30 minutes. Rinse kombu; add to the broth for 1 minute. Using tongs remove kombu and mushrooms; discard kombu. Transfer mushrooms to a work surface; cut off stems and discard. Cut each mushroom into 3 or 4 strips. Pass the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into another large pot; discard solids in strainer. Add tamari and rice vinegar to broth. This can be prepared a day ahead. Cover and chill mushrooms and broth.
Garnishes – Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the yams until just tender; 4 to 5 minutes. Using a skimmer, transfer yams to a medium bowl. Cook snow peas, cabbage, and carrots separately until just tender (snow peas, 30 seconds; cabbage, 1 ½ minutes; carrots, 2 minutes). Using skimmer transfer vegetables to separate bowls. Reserve cooking liquid. Vegetables can be cooked up to 2 hours ahead. Let liquid and vegetables stand at room temperature.
Bring the cooking liquid to boil. Sprinkle with salt. Add the udon noodles; cook until tender but still firm; stirring often. Drain and rinse.
Meanwhile bring the soup broth to a simmer. Add the scallions and ginger strips. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.
Using tongs, divide the noodles among your serving bowls (4 to 6 servings). Divide the vegetables among the bowls, each in a separate mound. Add shredded chicken, or cubed tofu or poached eggs as you wish. Ladle on the hot broth and serve. Pass the sambal oelek and tamari separately.
Richard Wottrich
No comments:
Post a Comment